Ignis Fatuus
by ShadeSpirit
Summary: Ignis Fatuus, something deluding or misleading. It is something I have never known. With my ability to see the unseen, it has left me very disillusioned to the world around me. So let the good times roll.


Ok, time for a new story. I coined this a while ago, but I only finished this one chapter last night. So I figure why not put it up to see what people think? My main focus will still be Of Death and Crows, for those of you who read it, but this will be an interesting side-project for me. If any of you are interested in seeing a picture of Maya, PM me and I'll give you a link to my DA where I put up the picture.

Disclaimer: This will be said only once: **I do not own Yuyu Hakusho or any of the characters except for my plot and OCs.**

* * *

I've always seen things.

I think the first clear memory I have is of asking my mom why the nice man had a horn growing out of his forehead. I remember the fear in her eyes as she laughed it off and ushered me away. And I remember the lecture I got.

If I see something like that, I say nothing. I can't let anyone know what I know. And I most definitely do not talk to those things I see.

Those are the rules I lived by as a child. That's not quite how it is now. Oh sure, I'm careful. If they look dangerous, I stick clear. But some of my closest friends now are the people my mom would want me to avoid.

Before you ask, no, she can't see what I can. Her mother did, though, but she wasn't careful. She made a mistake and was killed for it. My mom was there when it happened, and she doesn't want something like that happening to me. Actually, I'm probably here just because my grandmother was killed.

You see, my mom is a true blooded American. When her mother was killed, she was only 17. She dropped out of school, got shady jobs, and fell into drugs. It was also about that time she realized how thrilling it was to be a groupie. There was this band she loved. It was little known, and from Japan. Well, she got into it with the bassist, and I'm the result. When my mom found out, she told my father, and he took her in. I think he loved her, even then. He quit the band, and got a job to support her. He helped her learn the language and the culture so she'd fit it a little better. My parents had to have been the happiest people I'd ever seen. Until my father died, anyway.

It happened two years ago. He was a teacher at a local school, a music teacher. He loved his job, and the students. It's that love that got him killed. Some kid came to school with a gun, probably got picked on. But he went psycho and started shooting off his gun. My father jumped in the way to protect some kids. Two shots to the lungs, one to the head. He was dead before he hit the ground.

But he was hailed a hero. Not that he would care now, or do us any good. My mom hardly talks anymore, but that's ok. We quit talking so much once I hit 14 anyway. Still, I try to make her happy. She's all I have left, and I don't want anything to happen to her. She seems so fragile now, like just one more blow and she'll shatter. I want to avoid that for as long as possible. So I'm careful. I let her think I'm a good little girl who still lives by the rules. What she doesn't know won't hurt her, right?

And that's how I find myself here, sitting on a garbage dumpster, legs swinging back and forth while I watch my two best friends wrestle out of view from the streets. Mag is the taller of the two. He's about 6'2, packed with muscle, and possessed the finest ass I've ever seen on a male. He's got messy brown hair and eyes the same robin's egg blue as the sky today. What a heart-throb. Too bad he's gay, right? With how big and strong he looked, he should have had the upper hand in the wrestling match, especially since his opponent was a girl. However, the big male soon found himself pinned, little Minara sitting on his back with her arms crossed. Unlike Mag, who seemed all American, Minara was the stereotype of the Japanese female. She was itty bitty with long, straight black hair, olive skin, and almond-shaped brown eyes.

To most people, Minara beating Mag in a fight would have been odd. But to me, it was normal. Mag was a human, like me, though he had some spiritual powers. He'd never honed them, so we had no idea what he could do, but he could sense the presence of demons, which was what Minara was. When she wasn't using illusion to cover up her appearance, her skin seemed too yellow. Her eyes resembled mirrors and her ears were long and sharp. However, that was the extent of her odd appearance. I have no idea what she is and she has never saw fit to clue me in. She's my friend and I'm content, so I just leave it at that.

Me, I almost look Japanese. I have the same olive skin and bone structure as my father. But my eyes are grey and my hair is blonde. I got those from my mom; I only wish my hair was like hers. But it's just boring and straight, so I usually have to spice it up. It's cut in a choppy manner to frame my face, but today my hair is up in pigtails with faded green tips. I need to redo the coloring soon…

"So, Maya, wanna go get some ice cream now?"

I look up at the sound of my name. Thinking on it, I had to smile slightly. My mother named me Maya because it meant truth, or everlasting, in Japanese. Considering my father's band had been called Truth Everlasting…well, that's just how my mom's mind works. It's funny, though. I did some research on my name, and in Sanskrit, my name means illusion or enchantment, which is exactly what I can see through.

"I suppose we can go now, if you're finished getting beat up."

Mag's lower lip quivered in a pout. "It's not fair! Nara is so little, she shouldn't be able to beat me!" he complained as Minara let him up.

I slid off the dumpster, my shoes making a thump as I landed and straightened, causing Minara to look over at me…and down to my shoes, which she made a look of disgust at. Finally, she looked at me with a pleading expression. "Please let me take you shoe shopping. Those are an embarrassment!"

I look down at my shoes. "They're perfectly fine!" I protest. Sure, they're about three years old, but converse are tough, especially converse which had been totally covered in silver duct tape. I liked how it looked, but Minara hated my shoes with a passion. Besides, I don't let my friends spend money on me. I pay for my own things with the part-time job I have. I don't even let my mom help me. She's working two jobs to get the bills paid and to buy food. She doesn't need to be giving me money, either.

"Fine?!" she sputtered, rolling her eyes.

"Just because you're trendy doesn't mean I have to be."

It was kind of funny. Minara had all brand name clothes. She was always polished and refined, a top-class sort of girl. Me, I shop in thrift stores. Her outfit might have cost hundreds of dollars. Mine, all together, was probably under twenty bucks. Not that I mind. You can always find the best clothes at thrift stores.

"Anyway, let's go. I'm hungry," I complained, walking out of the alley, knowing the other two would follow.

I slowed down a bit to let them catch up then threaded my hand with Mag's, Minara taking the other side. Mag always complained about when we did this, because, as he said, it made him look straight. I would always retort with that he looked straight and that half the school still thought he was anyway. So we walked hand in hand to the local ice cream parlor. I skipped in, drooling over all the different kinds of ice cream. However, I never entered the line. I didn't have any money today. So I got a booth while the other two got themselves something. When they sat down, they had brought an extra spoon, handing it to me. Hey, just because I won't let them buy me stuff doesn't mean I won't take what they buy for themselves.

So as we shared, I glanced at the window, sucking on my spoon to rid it of the ice cream it was covered with. I saw two men on the other side of the street, looking shady. Only they weren't men. One of them had a reptilian cast to his face and was colored a rusty red. As he spoke to the guy beside him, I could see a forked tongue flicking in and out. The second one looked almost normal, except he had slit pupils and two big ears sticking out of his head. As one, the two of them looked up and at me. We stared at one another for a minute before I looked away, frowning.

"That can't be good," I mumbled around my spoon. Minara and Mag immediately look at me for an explanation. "There were two demons out there across the street. They looked right at me." As one, my two friends looked, but neither could see through illusion. Instead, they could only sense auras. But that seemed enough for them.

"They're pretty powerful," Minara commented, frowning.

"And their coming this way," added Mag.

"It's time for us to leave."

I look up at Minara in surprise. Why should we leave? Did she know something I didn't? Well, I didn't have time to ask since I was ushered out of the parlor through the kitchen door. Once we were out, Minara stopped. "Get home as fast as you can, Maya. If those men attack us, just keep running. Mag and I can hold them off."

"After me? But why?" I ask as we started jogging.

"Because you're special," she replied with a fond smile.

"But what about Mag?"

"He's special, sure, but not like you are. People like him are a dime a dozen. But you, I think, are the only like you. I'll explain everything later, I promise, but for now just run."

I didn't get a chance to do much else, since Mag grabbed my hand and started dragging me along. I looked over my shoulder and saw that Minara had stopped and turned to face the two demons who hadn't been put off for long about our exit. I tried to dig in my heels to stop, but Mag just yanked me forward and into his arms, breaking into a longer stride. The last sight I had of Minara was her grinning with too many teeth, holding up hands that had sprouted very long claws.

When we reached my house, I was shaking so bad I almost couldn't stand. I admit it, I was terrified. I fumbled with my key so I get could the door open, since mom wasn't home, but my hand didn't seem to want to work. Mag gently took the key from me and opened it himself, ushering me inside before locking it back. He handed me back the key before herding me into the living room.

"How do you know we'll be safe here?" I finally ask as we sit on the sofa together.

"Minara says there was a protection placed around this house when you were born, though she isn't sure who did it."

"How much do you know about all of this?"

"Not much," he admitted. "But Minara said that your gift could bring trouble, so she had me training. She said I was too useful to not learn to use my spirit energy."

"How long has this been going on?" I felt almost betrayed, that they would do something behind my back.

"Only a few months. I've gotten stronger. Minara says I could probably take on a low level demon now, maybe even a C class if I'm lucky. Considering that most of the demons here are usually C or lower, it's comforting."

"What's Minara?"

"You know, she never really told me. But when she gets back, maybe we'll get some answers."

After that, we went quiet. To pass the time, we watched television, but I was so distracted that it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Shouldn't Minara be back by now? It was worrying me. She was one of my best friends and I didn't want anything to happen to her.

It was nearly 7 o'clock when there was a hesitant tapping on the door. I surged up to answer it, but Mag grabbed a hold of me and tugged me back down to the couch.

At my cry out outrage, he explained his actions, "We don't know who it is, Maya. Let me go see first, ok?"

At my nod, he stood and left, peaking through the peep hole before checking the person's aura. Satisfied, he unlocked the door and let Minara in. She didn't look worse for wear. Not a single hair was out of place on her head, despite the long gash on her cheek. When I saw her, I rushed up to hug her, burying my face against her shoulder.

"Maya, it's ok. I took care of them. You don't have to worry anymore," she said soothingly.

When she could finally get out of my death grip, she sat me down on the couch again so she could explain, knowing I wanted answers.

"Ok, well, first things first. I am a soul eater. I'm not sure if my clan has a proper name. We've been called soul eaters for as long as I can remember, so it has stuck. What that means is that I can possess people, and do certain spells involving souls. Because of this, I can also look into a person's soul and judge their worthiness. This came in handy with your case."

"My case?" I interrupted, causing Minara to glare at me. "Sorry."

Satisfied that I would stay quiet, she continued, "Now, as I was saying. I had been working in Rekai at the time that Lord Koenma, the ruler of Rekai, received a message from the Oracle. It simply said that a new Seer would come into the world. This caused quite a stir, of course, since there hadn't been a Seer alive since your grandmother had been killed from the negligence of Rekai. We didn't want to make the same mistake as you. So I was sent to watch over you. It wasn't intended that I befriend you, but I suppose that's just how Fate works. She's fickle, and I should know, since I've met the woman. Now, any questions before I continue?"

"Just a few. First off, what is Rekai?"

"Rekai is Spirit World. Souls go there to be judged. It also looks over both Ningenkai and Makai to make sure order is kept."

"And those two are?"

"Human World and Demon World."

"Ok then, who is the Oracle?"

"I can't really explain her very well," Minara said with a shrug. "No worries, I'm sure you'll meet her eventually."

"Ok, what is a Seer?"

"Well, you obviously. A Seer can see through illusions and enchantments. They can see magic as it is being woven. At times, they can even part the mist shrouding the future to see what lies ahead. That makes them very useful creatures, which makes you very valuable."

"Is that why you were sent to watch me?"

"Exactly. There are many power-hungry demons who would love to find you and exploit you. Rekai can't let that happen."

Leaning back in my seat, I frowned. "Ok, so what happens now? Those demons from before, they found me. If they could, won't others?"

"Yes, but Rekai has that covered," she said, steepling her fingers.

"How so?"

"You, Maya, are going to be sent to a school that Rekai has control over, where you can be better protected from harm."

This caused me to frown. Did she forget about mom? There was no way she was letting me leave. The woman was terribly shaky and paranoid. She needed me, and worried about me when I was just at school, much less in some weird private school where I'd have to stay for a term.

"I can see in your expression that you aren't very sure of this. Don't worry, your mother thinks you are going to this school on a scholarship. She also believes you will be much better protected from big bad demons."

"So you tricked her?" I asked, disapproval in my voice.

"Not exactly. You will be protected, and you are going for free."

Giving in, I rolled my eyes. "Ok then, at least tell me the name of this so-called school."

Minara's grin spoke volumes. "Minamino's School for Talented Children."


End file.
